It probably is a miniscule contribution to the total amount of insulin I guess. But as far as caffeine as a drug is concerned, I think it is under-appreciated just how much it affects our behaviour. Most of us are so habituated to drinking the stuff that it only brings us up to normal when we have our first cuppa in the morning. But try going without it for a few days and you'll realise what an influence the stuff has on us.
I just quit all caffeine a couple of weeks ago, then a few days ago I tried coffee again one morning. I had only about the usual amount, okay, plus a cup of tea, and I felt GREAT! ...until the evening... when I was having to talk myself through a panic attack
I know it's not just caffeine alone that causes that kind of anxiety, but I have no doubt in my mind now that it exacerbates it.
But having to apologetically belittle ourselves for being "sensitive" to what is essentially a drug, is a bit like how it was during my university years when it seemed that everyone was smoking weed and I felt like I was the odd one out who couldn't "handle my weed"... Why is something wrong with US for not handling the drugs?? Surely the drugs are the problem... I often wonder if people who are labelled as "sensitive" are really just more in-tune with their bodies when the majority tend to ignore their bodily sensations, or are just in denial.
The problem I was having after quitting caffeine and going through the withdrawals was realizing that I might never feel as up or happy as I did while "on caffeine", and would that mean life would feel flat from now on? I imagine heroin users feel the same way about their hits - it's hard to replicate that in real life without the drug. But acknowledging this fact is making it easier to have a different expectation of how I should feel once its out of my system. And finding other (natural) ways to get a dopamine hit is helping immensely. (Like exploring a new place in nature. Or singing! Or achieving some other personal goal like learning a new task.)
I have never liked the idea of taking medication if there was an alternative. But I never considered that being on caffeine equates to being medicated. But it does. And I may have even been using it to hide an underlying depression all these years. It's interesting to peel back the band-aid and stare at your wounds head on and then be forced to find a way to heal.
But don't worry, no one wants anyone to give up their coffee habits. There is just too much money to be made by that industry, isn't there? Not to mention that the decisions we make while caffeinated probably involve activity levels that will forever require a caffeinated state to be able to keep up with them. Our whole culture seems to revolve around most people being caffeinated. So those who love their coffee will always be encouraged to stick with it.
But I don't think we need to apologize or make ourselves feel bad for not being able to drink the stuff. The same goes for alcohol. Just because they are made to seem like a normal part of life, doesn't mean we have to consume them like that. I bet there are lots of people struggling with them behind closed doors, too ashamed to admit it for fear of being labelled "sensitive". I remember one young colleague of mine fearing that he was developing Bipolar Disorder. I told him it was more like all the coffee and alcohol he was drinking that was giving him up and down moods. It's weird that people would continue using these legal drugs and then be diagnosed with a mental illness, and then put on more drugs. The pharmaceutical companies are laughing all the way to the bank.